Lamont Peterson Doesn't Rule Out 140 Return, But Content At 147

By Jake Donovan

Barring the perfect opportunity falling in his lap, Lamont Peterson appears to be done with the 140 lb. division.

The former titlist has fought at catchweight bouts in each of his past two starts and seems content with moving up the scale after a career spent at super lightweight.

“I don’t want to say I won’t make 140 ever again, but it would have to be a really big fight for me to want to get back down that low,” Peterson (34-3-1, 17KOs) told BoxingScene.com in discussing his future. “I can make the weight, but I know I wouldn’t be as effective as I want to be in the ring.”

The 32-year old former super lightweight titlist hasn’t been contractually obligated to make the weight limit since an Aug. ’14 title defense versus Edgar Santana. Peterson won by one-sided 10th round knockout on a night that was designed to set up a title unification clash with unbeaten 140 lb. king Danny Garcia, who stopped Rod Salka in their 142 lb. catchweight bout in the evening’s main event.

The fight eventually happened, only without any hardware at stake. Garcia insisted he had outgrown the division, requesting the fight take place at a maximum limit of 143 lbs. Peterson was fine with the terms; he just wanted the fight and also saw it as an opportunity to segue into the welterweight division, with visions of serving as the final opponent of Floyd Mayweather’s illustrious career.

It didn’t quite pan out that way. Peterson dropped a hotly contested majority decision to Garcia in their NBC-televised headliner last April in Brooklyn, New York, while Mayweather – who conquered Manny Pacquiao went on to face former welterweight titlist one month later in the most lucrative boxing event ever – would go on to face former welterweight titlist Andre Berto, scoring a one-sided victory last September before moving to his new job title as a full-time promoter.

Peterson decided to remain outside the super lightweight division, facing then-unbeaten Felix Diaz – a 2008 Olympic Gold medalist for Dominican Republic now based out of the Bronx – at a maximum catchweight of 144 lbs. Their clash took place last October in Fairfax, Virginia, not very far from his Washington D.C. hometown. Peterson claimed a decision win, though there were arguments made that Diaz deserved the nod.

What remained without question, was the fact that Peterson’s future would take place at welterweight – and perhaps beyond.

“A lot of what I do in training now is centered around adding muscle,” notes Peterson, who is eyeing a ring return in May. “I’m happy at 147. To be honest I can even fight at 154 lbs. But 147 is where I’m most effective. The division is wide open with Floyd stepping down from the throne and I believe I can cause some damage at that weight.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox